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Position Summary
The association manager serves as Barcami Lane’s account manager for assigned association clients, representing the company’s interests while managing client associations on a day-to-day basis. They work in collaboration with the client’s volunteer leaders and Barcami Lane’s staff and contractors in ensuring each client’s unique needs are satisfied in accordance with the management contract’s scope of services.
The role offers a unique opportunity to gain experience working with a variety of associations within an AMC environment. This position is ideal for someone looking to transition into an association executive role after mastering another domain of association management, such as meeting planning, legislative affairs, or membership and marketing management.
The association manager reports to the president of Barcami Lane.
Preference is for candidates to be based in our Westford, MA office or the mid-Atlantic to best serve our client portfolio.
Tasks and Duties
The association manager shall perform the following tasks and duties:
Client Management
• Collaborates with company leadership to manage assigned clients.
• Build and maintain effective professional relationships with the client’s officers, directors, volunteers, and members.
• Coordinate and direct the work of staff teams to ensure the work specified in client scope of services is completed in a timely, quality manner. This includes contractors and vendors.
• Consult with company leadership to balance and allocate resources to meet client and Barcami Lane’s objectives.
• Complete work within the budgeted number of hours allocated for each assigned client.
• Advise clients on compliance with governance documents and policies.
• Help clients set realistic goals, balancing programs and services with clients’ mission statements and strategic plans.
• Proactively provide leadership support, actively bringing new ideas and best practices to clients.
• Support clients’ advocacy work in partnership with volunteers, lobbyists, and partners.
• Complete other association management activities outlined in the scope of services for assigned clients.
• Keep client presidents and boards of directors fully informed of matters affecting the association, including progress towards strategic goals and financial performance.
• Represent clients with industry-related groups and at industry-related meetings, as approved by clients.
• Facilitate external communications for assigned clients, with the client president serving as the chief spokesperson.
• Facilitate communication and feedback between clients and other staff.
Board & Committee Support
• Provide professional counsel to the client’s board of directors.
• Proactively execute board decisions and implement tactics to achieve objectives.
• Partner with the client president to develop agendas and materials for board of directors and executive committee meetings.
• Attend and actively participate in all board meetings.
• Provide a written management report for all board meetings.
• Deliver annual board orientations and volunteer trainings based on content developed by and under the guidance of company leadership.
• Assist clients with leadership development activities, and administer nominations and elections processes.
• Serve as a staff liaison to assigned clients’ committees, task forces, and other workgroups.
• Oversee the coordination of all in-person and virtual meeting logistics.
• Draft and distribute board meeting minutes follow-up on action items.
Operations
• Plan and manage the day-to-day work of Barcami Lane’s assigned client team, including meeting planners, program coordinators, and other staff.
• Ensure that all work conducted for clients is included in the scope of services agreement between Barcami Lane and the client, alerting the client relationship managers of any work that is outside of the scope of services.
• Manage and administer, on a day-to-day basis, the operations and general affairs of assigned clients, pursuant to their bylaws and policies.
• Execute programs and manage projects to ensure targets, deadlines, and financial goals are met, delegating implementation when appropriate.
• Contribute to formulating and updating client policies, processes, and procedures.
• Review contracts and agreements, obtaining advanced written approval as required by the client or company president.
Events
• Absent an assigned meeting planner, plan and manage all aspects of in-person and virtual events, including venue selection, contracting, food and beverage, audiovisual, speakers, room layouts, overnight room blocks, exhibit hall and tradeshow logistics, marketing, etc.
• Lead the development of clients’ event budgets and obtaining the clients’ approval.
• Establish and oversee the implementation of event marketing schedules that include web, email, print, and social media communications, for attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors.
• Monitor registration numbers, exhibit and sponsorship income, room block pickup, and other key metrics on a weekly basis, and benchmark against the budget and prior years.
Membership
• Actively lead membership recruitment and retention efforts.
• Actively lead efforts to recruit sponsors and corporate supporters.
• Stay informed of current best practices on membership recruitment and retention, apply to assigned clients.
• Manage the association’s membership database (AMS).
• Develop and disseminate membership surveys as requested by client.
• Provide clients with high-level reports of the results of surveys and membership campaigns.
• Monitor member satisfaction and report trends, issues, and opportunities to volunteer leaders.
Finances
• Collaborate with accounting team to manage budgets for the assigned clients.
• Develop annual budgets with input from staff and volunteers.
• Regularly monitor clients’ financial positions, forecasting and anticipating issues or opportunities based on data provided by accounting team.
• Analyze financial reports and provide executive summaries to client presidents and treasurers based on data provided by accounting team.
• Work with accounting team and client treasurers to develop and maintain sound financial practices and fulfill financial responsibilities, including the effective management of receivables and payables.
• Coordinate other financial processes including the review of tax returns and other filings and updating bank account signers, in partnership with accounting team and client volunteer leaders.
• Ensure legal filings are current in state of incorporation.
Communications & Publications
• Establish and oversee the implementation of marketing schedules that include web, email, print, and social media communications. May also include promotion through client’s alliances or paid advertising.
• Oversee graphic designer’s efforts to develop graphics and marketing pieces, both print and digital collateral.
• Write copy to be used in marketing materials.
• Provide marketing copy and direction to support staff, who will draft email blasts and distribute social media content.
• Work with support staff to ensure clients’ websites are kept up to date.
• Ensure all client communications are appropriate, and free of spelling, grammar, or factual errors.
Management
• Provide regular feedback to Barcami Lane’s leadership on staff performance, including participation in the annual performance evaluation process for assigned staff.
• May handle additional association management responsibilities for clients or other duties as assigned.
• Respond to client questions and requests via telephone and email within 48 hours.
Qualifications
To be qualified for this position, individuals must possess association or nonprofit management experience and a bachelor’s degree.
Barcami Lane strongly prefers individuals who have worked in an association management company or a standalone association and has supervisory experience, and client management experience.
Skills and Abilities
• They must be able to work independently with limited direction; maintain effective professional relationships with clients, management, staff and contractors; and manage competing priorities in a dynamic environment.
• The association manager must be a self-motivated problem-solver, able to collaborate and communicate across disciplines.
• They must be committed to their own personal and professional development.
• They must be highly organized and have strong written and verbal communication skills.
• The association manager should be able to function effectively in a contemporary hybrid office environment using Microsoft 365, association management systems (AMS) and databases, virtual meeting platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, email marketing tools such as Constant Contact and Mail Chimp, project management tools such as Basecamp, and other productivity tools.
• Individual must be willing and able to learn and gain proficiency in client AMS platforms within three-six months of employment.
• Demonstrated excellence with organizational and project management skills.
• We utilize Basecamp to manage all client work. Usage of the system is required.
• Must be willing and able to travel locally and nationally, approximately 15%.
• Valid driver’s license required.
• Individuals must have reliable personal transportation for local travel.
• Individuals must be able to travel via commercial air travel.
